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Councilman Proposes City Ban on Pit Bulls, Rottweilers

Edgewood city council discussed a possible ban on pit bulls during its regular meeting earlier this month.

That meeting was closed to the public due to current social-distancing standards.

There was a report in the city of dogs attacking children in the children's family's yard, and Councilman Tony Ward said that the city's current vicious dog ordinance does not go far enough to prevent such attacks.

Ward argued that most dog attacks involve pit bulls or rottweilers. He asked council to consider a ban on both breeds.

"If we ban pit bulls, are the dogs already in the city grandfathered in?," asked Mayor John Link.

The answer was no, the owners would have to get rid of their dogs.

City Attorney Frank Wichmann said that owners could still be prosecuted for having a vicious dog, if someone signs out a criminal complaint.

But City Administrator Brian Dehner said that the city would like to get feedback from the residents on the matter, and he asked Ward if that was something he wanted to see, and Ward agreed.

It was recommended to table the matter of rescinding the city's current ordinance until the city could open their meetings to the public again, and allow people to come and tell council what they think in person.

Wichmann said that the county has a strong ordinance right now, and the county's ordinance would kick in if Edgewood did not have one.

Dehner said that he could put the issue on the city website so that people can take a short poll on what their feelings are about bans on dogs within the city. He said that he is looking at putting possibly five or six questions in the poll, asking specifically if people would support banning specific breeds of dogs in the city.

Council also discussed canceling community events, and then proceeded to cancel everything in March and April. They did not cancel the city-wide yard sale scheduled for May 9, but suggested that it could also be canceled if current events continue.